The mood around Foxboro, Massachusetts improved significantly last weekend, thanks to the New England Patriots regaining their home dominance. The Pats beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20 to ensure a fifth consecutive trip to their conference’s championship game, a remarkable feat matched only in NFL history by the 1973-77 Oakland Raiders. The scoreline flattered the visitors: Tom Brady and his offense shook off any concerns and coach Bill Belichick conducted another display of defensive wizardry.

Now with their AFC title encounter against a Denver team dealing with major question marks over the form of Peyton Manning, the Patriots seem destined for another Super Bowl trip, and chance at a fifth title in the Brady-Belichick era. But the good vibes from the victory against Kansas City were missing last week, thanks to one of the most peculiar moments of the season. Chandler Jones, their star defensive end, arrived at his local police station in the morning, half-naked, disoriented and seeking help. And his story centered around his alleged use of a substance that could be the NFL’s next biggest problem: synthetic cannabis.

A source told the Boston Globe Jones acted the way he did because he had taken that the controversial designer drug – also known as K2, spice and synthetic marijuana. It didn’t cost him any playing time, but it prompted the 6ft 5in, 265lb pass-rushing ace to apologize to reporters last week.

“I want to start off by saying I made a pretty stupid mistake this weekend,” Jones said, without explicitly saying what he had done. “Right now, my main focus is becoming the best player I can be and helping the team. We’re focusing on Kansas City.”

Synthetic cannabis is artificial chemicals sprayed on to a dried plant material, and despite being illegal in Massachusetts, it’s frequently available at gas stations and mom-and-pop stores, usually marked as incense or pot pourri. It gives users feelings of relaxation, elation, delusions and altered perception – just like regular marijuana.

However, synthetic cannabis can also lead to anxiety, confusion, paranoia and hallucinations. In some cases, certain types of synthetic marijuana can be stronger than marijuana itself. Those factors strongly suggest that synthetic usage triggered Jones’ behavior. If he did take it, why would he or any NFL player indulge in such a dangerous, illegal substance instead of the real stuff?

Well, under the league’s drug policy, NFL players are still banned for taking marijuana. Players under contract are still drug tested in the calendar year from April 20 to August 9. If their blood or urine tests past 35 ng/ml, a player will automatically register a positive test and be entered confidentially into the NFL’s two-stage drug program. A failure to comply to a treatment plan would lead to a three-game fine and entrance into stage two. An inability to complete the drug rehab plan in stage two would result in a four-game suspension. With that type of punishment, why would any NFL player take real or fake weed if they shouldn’t be taking it?

Asking those questions and drawing conclusions on players taking these drugs is understandable, but it would be without knowing how marijuana is more than a gateway substance for players. Alarmed at the rate in which players are forced by their teams to take prescription painkillers they don’t want, a movement of former players is pushing the NFL to allow usage of medical marijuana as a proper alternative. Instead of relying heavily on anodynes to deal with injuries, these players have expressed how they found recovery for their bodies easier with medical marijuana.

Still, with a third of the year forcing them to stay clean, players know that they can’t rely on using marijuana to recover. And if they did test positive during that April to August interval, NFL punishment would be guaranteed.

It’s the main reason why synthetic marijuana has emerged in the NFL, serving as the substitute that isn’t part of the NFL’s drug policy and preventing players from risking a lot by taking marijuana. Players are aware enough to know that its man-made qualities make it dangerous compared to real weed. But the stress relief is needed, and its presence is felt because of the league’s position on medical marijuana. It is possible that Jones was the latest example of this, as he has dealt with both toe and abdomen injuries this season.

Who knows if Jones is in stage one of the NFL drug program or not? And who, besides a source, knows if he took synthetic marijuana to begin with? Roger Goodell should have gotten a major wake-up call on this before it becomes his league’s next major problem they inadequately address.

If the National Hockey League can remove marijuana from its banned substances list, than Goodell, the 32 owners, and the players’ union, can give themselves one less headache by doing the same.